Recent Profile Visitors

I’m privy to a town hall that our senior administrators have every single week with hospitals across the state, we tally our hospitals’ cases, discharged, deaths etc. every day, every week. I can tell you as of 4.23.2020 NYC had 14,427 deaths out of 134,874 cases. I’m so terribly sorry if the numbers aren’t so readily accessible to you.

Roughly 1 out of every 600 NYC resident has died of COVID-19 (assuming 8.5m residents and 14k deaths). That could be infinitely worse. Further, Any number you quote, won’t count the indirect losses of life because of the lack of resources. Or do you think heart attacks, aortic dissections, strokes, ruptured intestines etc. just stopped happening? And before you ask for real numbers, every system is actively looking at it. But it’s bad.
No matter what nonsense you quote, the flu has never, in my medical career, had the capacity to overwhelm a hospital system to the point of sacrificing care for others. Everybody wants to get back to normal, myself included. It acting like this is a hot take / fake news, makes you look ignorant and just as bad the jackals protesting.

Firefighters have been lining their trucks outside our employee entrance / exit and cheer / clap from 7pm on. Lost two patients (one simply because lack of resources, which I won't get into here) within an hour of leaving the hospital the other day and they were still there at 8pm. I was the only one walking out and yet they still clapped. One of the most touching things that I have ever experienced. Made me tear up a bit. Thanks for all of the support

As I finish my shift in the ICU, yearning for something to take take my mind off of what's going on, I asked myself, what happens when the upcoming season doesn't happen? I just don't see how packing 50-100 thousand people in a confined place every weekend for a few months on the tails of a pandemic will be allowed.
I don't want this to turn into a COVID thread, there are enough of those. I am just curious as to what the actual logistics are and if there is any precedent to a canceled season. Do they have a draft the following year? Do we keep the same draft order? Do they allow for longer off-season workout programs? etc. Anyway, hope everyone is staying healthy and sane out there.

I cannot multi-quote everything wrong in this thread, but I don't think the spread of misinformation is appropriate, especially when it has the potential to be harmful.
*NYC is still very much an absolute disaster. Every single morning I receive an update regarding our bed capacity (hospitals are running at or near 100% capacity, which is unheard of), our ventilatory capacity (NY state was just approved to utilize two people per vent - which can be done, just requires relatively equal ideal body weight - which suffice to say, does not happen when things are clearing) ICU bed capacity (we are retrofitting every capable room to handle ICU-level care).
*The "cure," as someone ridiculously mentioned, is an antimalarial drug (Chloroquine) and it's analogue Hydroxchlorquine. The long and short of it: they work via several mechanisms (disrupting cellular receptor ACE2) which in theory makes it particularly effective against SARS and COVID (they need this receptor to be virulent). They've shown in vitro data that it could be helpful. It failed to show anything in mice models. There's reports of it being favorable in Humans from China, but no published data as of yet. It remains as part of our current recommended treatment regimen, but as of yet, there's no data. We're optimistic, however, remember, the reports are that it helps remission of fever and possible decreased duration of mechanical ventilatory support. But certainly not a cure, which is harmful to suggest.
*Every single estimate, even the most conservative, is that we aren't going to see a peak, in NYC, until another 2-3 weeks. We are at or near capacity it most NYC hospitals, that is the definition of lack of resources. There's talks of graduating military residents early to have them staff units up in NYC. That doesn't happen because things are clearing up.
*Perhaps the most important takeaway: the death toll is not going to be just from coronavirus, but all the people who have died for lack of resources. e.g. the number of MIs (heart attacks) is down significantly, as are stroke, bowel perforation, appendicitis etc. do we really think people stopped having MIs because of the virus? No. People aren't coming in. There will be drastic consequences because of the lack of resources that don't pertain to just those in respiratory failure.
TL:DR NYC is currently dealing with a disaster of epic proportions and it's only going to get worse in the next 2-3 weeks. Hopefully the rest of the country can learn and avoid what's happening here. Stay safe, be smart.

Tell Levitt to come spend a 27hr shift with me.
Fact: NYC has ~50% of the confirmed positive cases in the country. NYC has ~5% of the confirmed positive cases in the world. My hospital system has ~50% of the cases in NY. Several residents are currently intubated (30s and healthy).
We are retrofitting any rooms in the hospital to maximize the number of ICU-capable beds, which still won't be enough (which is why contingencies are being put in place with possible military aid). We are reusing PPE, which any other time of the year we would throw away after single use. People are going to die, not just because of the Coronavirus, but from numerous other ailments e.g. 12 and 22- bed ICUs that are usually at capacity with cardiac patients, have been taken over by COVID patients. The kicker, those patients haven't' been moved anywhere, they just aren't coming into the hospital, or worse, being sent home. Do we really think people stopped having MIs, strokes, perforated bowel? Nope. Cancer cases have ceased as well; how many potentially curable cancers will be upstaged now?? (90%+ 5year survival now turns to 50% 5year survival because they couldn't get to an operating room. It's a possibility). So everyone who keeps ignorantly rambling about "did everyone freak out about the last flu pandemic" has no idea what they are talking about. Other parts of the country are not seeing what NYC is seeing, and hopefully never will. But it is bad in NYC and going to get worse over the next several weeks.
Just be smart and hopefully everyone can stay safe. Even young people, while yes, you most likely will have zero to minor symptoms, statistics do not lie. Someone has to be the n=1, why even chance it when the ability to prevent it is so benign. Please, be smart. Stay safe.

So I am no longer operating, albeit for the emergency case once or twice a week. Now, even as a surgical resident I primarily work in a 22 bed unit that is only COVID+ patients. I can tell you, I am used to working 100+ hour weeks, 12 days on, 2 off for half a decade: I have never been more stressed out in my entire life. These patients are sick. They decompensate quickly. Have zero reserve. That video of the Italian ICU is calm, compared to the sh*tstorm that I have seen the last two weeks. Running out of mechanical ventilators is a real issue. Running out of proper protective equipment is a real issue.
I’m too tired to say anything more than stay the f*ck home. Anyone downplaying this doesn’t understand that if we reach critical mass, which we will, without blunting the curve, tens of thousands will die simply because of lack of resources. And that’s not to count the thousands of patients who are being sent home with other non-COVID critical illnesses because everyone’s focus is on COVID. If you’re downplaying it, come spend half a day with us.
(also just an aside, viruses when they mutate tend to become less virulent, not more. Not always, but that’s historically how things have gone. Plus, even if you’ve had it or the eventual vaccine, you’ll confer a level of immunity to the newer potentially more virulent one. It’s why the flu vaccine is so damned important). I’ll chime in more with updates and when I’m done passing out. Everyone please, stay Home, stay safe, be smart.

This is why it's terrifying and why people really need to understand their actions regarding social distancing: a comparison of the age distributions of Covid-19 cases in Italy, where they are only testing people who show symptoms, and S. Korea, which has broad testing. A whole lot of 20-29yos out there who feel just fine but are contagious af. Again, stay home unless you need to be out.
Also: please read the linked washington post article to fully understand the math behind social distancing.